Activities
All Daily Activities are FREE with general admission
Scientist Saturdays
Discover current research and meet real scientists at Scientist Saturdays.
Learn more.
Science NOW!
Science Now is an interactive, hands-on look at current science news!
Learn more.
Meet the Animals
Meet the furry, feathered, and scaly residents of the Academy.
Learn more.
Naturalist Presentations
Join our experienced Academy Educators as they explore natural history.
Learn more.
Fossil Prep Lab
Witness paleontology in action as real dinosaur fossils are prepared.
Learn more.
Live Invertebrate Cart
Get up close to the Academy's invertebrates.
Learn more.
Investigation Station
Visitors can ask open-ended questions, design experiments, manipulate variables, and use scientific tools.
Learn more.
Marty the Moose Storytimes
Marty the Moose, the Academy’s pun-ny four-legged storyteller, loves a good book and invites visitors to celebrate science and stories.
Learn more.
NEW
Scientist Saturdays
1-4 p.m.
Select Saturdays
Location: Science Live, Outside the Auditorium
Discover current research and meet real scientists at Scientist Saturdays. See hands-on demonstrations of scientists’ exciting research and ask all the questions you want from 1 to 4 p.m. The program welcomes guests of all ages to interact with the scientists, who are happy to converse with you about their current research. Come back for new guests each month. Free with general admission. No registration required.
September 15: Local and Global Malacology
Meet graduate students Nate Shoobs, Gizelle Batalomaque, Heather Kostick, Lincoln Rehm and Michelle Gannon, who study shells. See interactive bivalve and gastropod exhibits of shells collected world-wide. Learn how microscopic parts of mollusks are being used in genetic and environmental research right here at the Academy. Play an interactive matching game where you will learn about shells you can find during your New Jersey or Pocono vacations. How many local species have you found?
Upcoming Dates:
- October 20
- November 17
- December 15
Science NOW!
10 a.m.–2 p.m.
Tuesday through Thursday
Location: Science Live, Outside the Auditorium
Science Now is an interactive, hands-on look at current science news! Each weekday from 10–2, visitors of all ages can find our enthusiastic volunteers ready to chat about news related to climate change, evolution, biodiversity and extinction, and water. Drop by for a brief activity or conversation! Free with general admission.
Meet the Animals
Monday–Friday
11 a.m. and 11:45 a.m.
Saturday and Sunday
11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
Location: Auditorium or Science Live
25–30 minutes
All ages welcome
Meet the furry, feathered, and scaly residents of the museum’s Live Animal Center, and explore their behaviors, adaptations, and ecosystems. The museum's Live Animal Center supports over 100 individual animal ambassadors and several colonies of invertebrates. Cared for by a team of full-time keepers, they make thousands of program appearances annually.
Naturalist Presentations
2:30 p.m.
Weekdays
Natural science is full of surprises—from feathers and jewels to bugs, dinosaurs, fossils, and live animals! Join our experienced Academy Educators as they explore natural history in these informal and interactive presentations.
Mondays
Up Close With Live Butterflies
Location: Butterflies!
Meet us in our tropical butterfly exhibit! Get up close and personal with our living jewels. Our keeper will show you how we take care of our butterflies, and you may even be able to help us release a new butterfly into the exhibit.
Tuesdays
My Cousin, the Dinosaur
Location: Science Live, Outside the Auditorium
Meet a live dinosaur relative, and learn how dinosaurs still live among us.
Wednesday
How to Prepare a Fossil
Location: Fossil Prep Lab in Dinosaur Hall
How does a fossil get pulled out of the ground and eventually put on display in a museum like the Academy of Natural Sciences? Our Academy dinosaur experts will be on hand to guide you through the science behind one of the most iconic animals on the planet!
Thursdays
Bug Appétit Invertebrate Feeding
Location: Outside In
Join us for a feeding of our living invertebrates, including tarantulas and centipedes. With over 1,000 bugs in our live collection, you never know who might be hungry during your visit.
Fridays
Training an Animal
Location: Science Live, Outside the Auditorium
Talk to our keeper staff as they demonstrate designing enrichment and training programs for our animals. Meet some of our live animals too!
Fossil Prep Lab
If you want to see paleontology in action, check out the Academy's Fossil Prep Lab. You can watch as our staff, volunteers, and other skilled workers prepare fossils for study by scientists from other research institutions. In the photo to the left, for example, you can witness preparator Jean Caton working on a vertebra (backbone) of an Apatosaurus for the Carnegie Museum.
Fossil Prep Lab staff often work closely with research paleontologists. Jason Poole is currently working with fossils from Montana/Wyoming, brought back from an expedition alongside the Bighorn Basin Paleontological Institute.
The Fossil Prep Lab is located in the back of Dinosaur Hall on the Main Floor, behind the staircase. Watch our staff work, and if you want, ask them questions. They will be glad to answer.
Live Invertebrate Cart
Get up close to the Academy's coolest, creepiest crawlies at our Invertebrate Tech Cart! See close-up details through a high powered microscope, examine and touch live bugs, ask an expert and more! Our Invert Cart runs seasonally and for special events. For Summer 2018 through early 2019, it will run on Tuesdays and Sundays. Check at the admissions desks to find out if the cart is out on the day of your visit!
Investigation Station
September Investigation Station
Fridays and Saturdays
11 a.m.–3 p.m.
Location: Moose diorama
Cells, Cells and More Cells!
Join us for Investigation Station, a drop-in activity where visitors can ask open-ended questions, design experiments, manipulate variables and use scientific tools. This September, we will explore the cells that make up the bodies of all living things. Look through microscopes and practice preparing slides!
The Academy is home to scientists researching topics such as biodiversity, climate change and evolution. The Investigation Station provides an opportunity for visitors to practice and experiment with the tools and processes of our research. Activities may include designing and constructing packaging to transport fossils from the field, making slime or learning to preserve a butterfly. Topics at the station rotate monthly. Science Facilitators spark excitement, curiosity and an appreciation for science.
Coming up in October, Spooky Science!
Marty the Moose Storytimes
Marty the Moose loves nothing more than a story time spent entertaining the crowds with his terrible jokes and goofy sense of humor. Join Marty and his favorite humans to hear a special story and meet a live animal.
Marty’s Story Time
Every Monday at 11 a.m.
Free with admission
Laugh along with Marty the Moose as he shares his favorite books. Join Marty, his favorite humans, and a live animal guest for this special story time. Pick up a copy of Marty’s Book Club choice each month the gift shop and Marty will sign it for you!